Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
24 29. The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, &c.
24. Then the Lord, &c.] The destruction of the cities of the Plain is an event to which frequent allusion is made in Holy Scripture. The impressive features of the Dead Sea must have continually lent force to the terrible tradition of an overthrow in times of remote antiquity. The barrenness of the soil, the absence of life in the water, the deposits of salt, of bitumen, and of sulphur, helped to connect a region, which was within sight of Jerusalem, with the thought of a judicial visitation by Jehovah, more terrible in character, if less in magnitude, than the Deluge itself. For the prophetic use of this catastrophe, see especially Deu 29:23. Cf. Jer 20:16; Jer 23:14; Jer 49:18; Jer 50:40; Lam 4:6; Amo 4:11; Zep 2:9. In the N.T. see Luk 17:29 ; 2Pe 2:6; Jdg 1:7.
brimstone and fire ] It is unreasonable to subject the description of this overthrow to the close scrutiny of modern science. Geologists now tell us that, within recent geological periods, there is no sign of volcanic activity in the Dead Sea region. If, therefore, as is assumed, the cities of the Plain lay in the Dead Sea valley, their overthrow was not occasioned by lava or burning ashes, like Pompeii, or Herculaneum, or St Pierre. It has been contended, and is not beyond the bounds of probability, that an earthquake, causing a sudden subsidence of the crust and accompanied by great fissures in the earth, caused the overthrow of buildings, and released great masses of bitumen, sulphur, &c., which are to be found in large quantities in that locality. The spontaneous combustion of escaping gas, the ignition of great masses of bituminous material, combined with the outflow of steam and hot water, would then have enveloped the whole country in dense smoke, and would have seemed to drop brimstone and fire from the sky. This line of explanation would also assume that the depression of the earth’s surface led to the subsequent submergence of the four ruined cities beneath the waters of the Dead Sea; the lower end of which is exceedingly shallow. A careful scientific investigation of the whole question was undertaken by Blanckenhorn, the results of which are contained in the Z.D.P.V. 1896, p. 58, 1898, p. 78.
There is, however, in the Biblical story, no mention of an earthquake. The events recorded evidently refer to a catastrophe, the tradition of which was handed down by the early Hebrews, and popularly localized in the bare and terrible features of the Dead Sea scenery.
from the Lord out of heaven ] The words “from the Lord” come in very strangely after “the Lord rained.” Cf. Mic 5:7, “as dew from the Lord.” For “out of heaven,” cf. 2Ki 1:12; Job 1:16.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Gen 19:24-25
Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven–
The destruction of Sodom
I.
DIVINE JUDGMENT IS DISCRIMINATIVE.
The Scripture will not have us fall into the belief that there is no radical difference between the good and the evil. It would have us know that they are as unlike as the wheat and the chaff. Divine judgments are a winnowing-fan to separate the two. If the sifting and winnowing process which goes on in this world is only partially accomplished, yet it is carried far enough to let us know that some time it will be completed.
II. DIVINE JUDGMENT, THOUGH LONG DELAYED, IS AT LAST PRECIPITATED BY PRESUMPTUOUS SINS. The men of Sodom, lusting after Gods messengers, launched upon themselves the fire and brimstone. They hastened and fixed the citys doom. No doubt, Gods judgments are exactly timed. The hour and minute of visitation are determined. But the timing has been done by One who foreknows the moral history of men. He has set a bound for human iniquity. It cannot be passed. He knows at what hour it will be reached. Until that hour judgment impends; then it falls. Let Joab escape punishment for the murder of Abner, and, so far from coming to repentance, he will be found reddening his hand with the blood of Amasa. Yet his second crime hastens on the time when the horns of the altar will not be for him a sanctuary of refuge. Let Napoleon
III. succeed in his transcendent crime of founding the Second Empire in France, and thereafter he will despise the will of the people, in destroying the freedom of the press, and will hasten the hour of doom by all the surprising splendours and follies of the Imperial court at Compiegne. The Bible reiterates the lesson for all rulers, all governments, all individuals: that a limit of transgression has been fixed, beyond which judgment waits. Presumptuous sins, therefore, hasten the hour of judgment.
III. AMONG PRESUMPTUOUS SINS WE MUST NUMBER DISOBEDIENCE TO THE LORDS DIRECT COMMAND. This was the sin of Lots wife. No doubt she loved Sodom.
IV. DIVINE JUDGMENT, WHICH IS PRECIPITATED BY ACTS OF PRESUMPTUOUS SIN, IS SOMETIMES AVERTED FOR THE SAKE OF THE RIGHTEOUS. What would have been realized in Sodom, had ten righteous men dwelt there, was done in Zoar when Lot and his two daughters made it a place of refuge. The little city of Zoar was saved for-their-sake. A leaven of goodness saved it.
V. THE DIVINE JUDGMENTS OF THIS WORLD ARE NOT FINAL. We might be inclined to say, in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, that their wickedness was sufficiently punished. The sweeping tempest of fire did its strange work throughly, but our Lord has left some sobering words (Mat 10:15) to teach that this sudden, awful event was not the day of judgment for Sodom. In that day it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for some who, despising the sin of the Sodomites, have yet sinned against greater light. (W. G. Sperry.)
The destruction of the cities of the plain
I. IT WAS SUDDEN.
1. AS regards the object of it.
2. Not as regards the Author of it.
II. IT WAS THE DIRECT ACT OF GOD.
1. The destruction was predicted.
2. The destruction was, in its nature, extraordinary.
III. IT WAS COMPLETE. Utter ruin, and absolutely without remedy. Learn:
1. That Gods judgments, though deserved, tarry long.
2. That without timely repentance, His judgments are sure to fall. (T. H.Leale.)
The overthrow of Sodom
The brimstone of the Authorized Version is probably rather some form of bituminous matter which could be carried into the air by such an escape of gas, and a thick saline mud would accompany the eruption, encrusting anything it reached. Subsidence would follow the ejection of quantities of such matter; and hence the word overthrew, which seems inappropriate to a mere conflagration, would be explained. But, however this may be, we have to recognize a supernatural element in the starting of the train of natural causes as well as in the timing of the catastrophe, and a Divine purpose of retribution, which turns the catastrophe, however effected, into a judgment. So regarded, the event has a double meaning.
1. In the first place, it is a revelation of an element in the Divine character and of a feature in the Divine Government. To the men of that time, it might be a warning. To Abraham, and through him to his descendants, and through them to us, it preaches a truth very unwelcome to many in this day–that there is in God that which constrains Him to hate, fight against, andpunish evil. The temper of this generation turns away from such thoughts, and, in the name of the truth that God is love, would fain obliterate the truth that He does and will punish. But if the punitive element be suppressed, and that in God which makes it necessary ignored or weakened, the end will be a God who has not force enough to love, but only weakly to indulge. If He does not hate and punish, He does not pardon. For the sake of the love of God, we must hold firm by the belief in the judgments of God. The God who destroyed Sodom is not merely the God of an earlier antiquated creed. Is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also. Again this event is a prophecy. So our Lord has employed it; and much of the imagery in which the last judgment is represented is directly drawn from this narrative. So far from this story showing to us only the superstitions of a form of belief which we have long outgrown, its deepest meaning lies far ahead, and closes the history of man on the earth. We know from the lips which cannot lie, that the appalling suddenness of that destruction foreshadows the swiftness of the coming of that last day of the Lord. We know that in literality some of the physical features shall be reproduced; for the fire which shall burn up the world and all its works is no figure, nor is it proclaimed only by such non-authoritative voices as those of Jesus and His apostles, but also by the modern possessors of infallible certitude–the men of science. We know that that day shall be a day of retribution. We know, too, that the crime of Sodom, foul and unnatural as it was, is not the darkest, but that its inhabitants (who have to face that judgment too) will find their doom more tolerable, and their sins lighter than some who have had high places in the church, than the Pharisees and wise men who have not taken Christ for their Saviour. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Lessons from the destruction of Sodom
I. WHAT AN EVIL IS SENSUAL AND SEXUAL POLLUTION. It is remarkable that God has severely punished the cities most chargeable with these sins. Lucknow is said to be the Sodom of India, and it has of late been terribly punished, although through the instrumentality of hands many of them unclean themselves. Some of the cities in the West Indies and South America, which have been destroyed by earthquake, were peculiarly stained by such pollutions; and if accounts be true, Cuba, on this principle, may well stand in awe of the judgments of God. Of all the cities on the continent, the two which have suffered most in war have been its two most licentious cities, namely, Vienna and Paris.
II. How MUCH STILL DEPENDS UPON A FEW IN A LARGE CITY, AS WELL AS IN A COUNTRY. Ye are the salt of the earth. Even Omnipotence pauses, in its path of just vengeance, till the righteous are out of its way (Gen 19:22). Let the thought that there are still so few righteous in the earth exert a humbling influence on our minds. We know not what is Gods required proportion now, it was in Sodoms day tens to tens of thousands; perhaps it is so still, and how serious the question. Is it because the required proportion of righteous is found, or is it out of mere forbearance that God does not arise terribly to punish the world, and how long, if it be mere forbearance, may this forbearance last?
III. LET US FLEE TO THE ZOAR OF CHRIST. (G. Gilfillan.)
Destruction a moral necessity
To find out whether the judgment is right we must find out the moral conditions which called it forth. And first, it is important to observe that this judgment was preceded by an inquiry of the most unquestionable completeness and authority. Hear this Gen 18:20-21). You see, therefore, that we are only following the Lords own example, in asking for information as to moral conditions. It is, then, deeply satisfactory to know that the judgment was preceded by inquiry. In the next place, the revelation made respecting the moral condition of Sodom is appalling and revolting, beyond the power of words to describe. Let us put the case before ourselves in this way: Given a city that is full of corruption, which may not be so much as named; every home a den of unclean beasts; every imagination debauched and drunk with iniquity; every tongue an empoisoned instrument; purity, love, honour, peace, forgotten or detested words; judgment deposed, righteousness banished, the sanctuary abandoned, the altar destroyed; every child taught the tricks and speech of imps; prizes offered for the discovery of some deeper depth of iniquity or new way of serving the devil;–given such a city, to know what is best to be done with it? Remonstrate with it? Absurd! Threaten it? Feeble! What then? Rain fire and brimstone upon it? Yes! Conscience says Yes; Justice says Yes; concern for other cities says Yes; nothing but fire will disinfect so foul an air, nothing but burning brimstone should succeed the cup of devils. Just as we grasp the moral condition with which God had to deal do we see that fire alone could meet wickedness so wicked or insanity so mad. This view is important not only historically as regards Sodom, but prospectively as regards a still greater judgment. This is no local tragedy. The fire and brimstone are still in the power of God; not a spark has been lost; it is true to-day and for ever that our God is a consuming fire! (J. Parker, D. D.)
The probable physical causes of the destruction of the cities of the plain
With reference to the causes of the destruction of the cities, these are soclearly stated in a perfectly unconscious and incidental manner in Gen 19:1-38., that I think no geologist, on comparing the narrative with the structure of the district, can hesitate as to the nature of the phenomena which were presented to the observation of the narrator, Nor is there any reason to suppose that the history is compounded of two narratives giving different views as to the cause of the catastrophe. On the contrary, the story has all the internal evidence of being a record of the observations of intelligent eye-witnesses, who reported the appearances observed without concerning themselves as to their proximate causes or natural probability. We learn from the narrative that the destruction was sudden and unexpected, that it was caused by brimstone and fire, that these were rained down from the sky, that a dense column of smoke ascended to a great height like the smoke of a furnace or lime-kiln, and that along with, or immediately after the fire, there was an emission of brine or saline mud, capable of encrusting bodies (as that of Lots wife), so that they appeared as mounds (not pillars) of salt. The only point in the statements in regard to which there can be doubt, is the substance intended by the Hebrew word translated brimstone. It may mean sulphur, of which there is abundance in some of the Dead Sea depths; but there is reason to suspect that, as used here, it may rather denote pitch, since it is derived from the same root with Gopher, the Hebrew name, apparently, of the cypress and other resinous woods. It is scarcely necessary to say that the circumstances above referred to are not those of a volcanic eruption, and there is no mention of any earthquake, which, if it occurred, must in the judgment of the narrator have been altogether a subordinate feature. Nor is an earthquake necessarily implied in the expression overthrown, used in Deu 29:1-29. Still, as we shall see, more or less tremor of the ground very probably occurred, and might have impressed itself on traditions of the event, especially as the district is subject to earthquakes, though it is not mentioned in theological narrative. The description is that of a bitumen or petroleum eruption, similar to those which, on a small scale, have been so destructive in the regions of Canada and the United States of America. They arise from the existence of reservoirs of compressed inflammable gas, along with petroleum and water, existing at considerable depths below the surface. When these are penetrated, as by a well or borehole, the gas escapes with explosive force, carrying petroleum with it, and when both have been ignited the petroleum rains down in burning showers and floats in flames over the ejected water, while a dense smoke towers high into the air, and the in-rushing draft may produce a vortex, carrying it upward to a still greater height, and distributing still more widely the burning material, which is almost inextinguishable and most destructive to life and to buildings. We have thus only to suppose that, at the time in question, reservoirs of condensed gas and petroleum existed under the plain of Siddim, and that these were suddenly discharged, either by their own accumulated pressure, or by an earthquake shock fracturing the overlying beds, when the phenomena described by the writer in Genesis would occur, and after the eruption the site would be covered with saline and sulphurous deposit, while many of the sources of petroleum previously existing might be permanently dried up. In connection with this there might be subsidence of the ground over the now exhausted reservoirs, and this might give rise to the idea of the submergence of the cities. It is to be observed, however, that the parenthetic statement in Gen 14:1-24, which is the Salt Sea, does not certainly mean under the sea, and that it relates not to the cities themselves but to the plain where the battle recorded in the chapter was fought at a time previous to to the eruption. It is also to be noted that this particular locality is precisely the one which, as previously stated, may on other grounds be supposed to have subsided, and that this subsidence having occurred subsequently may have rendered less intelligible the march of the invading army to later readers, and this may have required to be mentioned. It seems difficult to imagine that anything except the real occurrence of such an event could have given origin to the narrative. No one unacquainted with the structure of the district and the probability of the bitumen eruptions in connection with this structure, would be likely to imagine the raining of burning pitch from the sky, with the attendant phenomena stated so simply and without any appearance of exaggeration, and with the evident intention to dwell on the spiritual and moral significance of the event, while giving just as much of the physical features as was essential to this purpose. It may be added here that in Isa 34:9-10, there is a graphic description of a bitumen eruption, which may possibly be based on the history now under consideration, though used figuratively to illustrate the doom of Idumea. In thus directing attention to the physical phenomena attendant on the destruction of the cities of the plain, I do not desire to detract from the providential character of the catastrophe, or from the lessons which it teaches, and which have pervaded the religion and literature of the world ever since it occurred. I merely wish to show that there is nothing in the narrative comparable with the wild myths and fanciful conjectures sometimes associated with it, and that its author has described it in an intelligent manner, appearances which he must have seen or which were described to him by competent witnesses. I wish also to indicate that the statements made are m accordance with the structure and possibilities of the district as now understood after its scientific exploration. From a scientific point of view it is an almost vague description of a natural phenomena of much interest and very rare occurrence. Nor do I desire to he understood as asserting that Sodom and its companion cities were unique in the facilities of destruction afforded by their situation. They were no doubt so placed as to be specially subject to one particular kind of overthrow. But it may be safely said that there is no city in the world which is not equally, though perhaps by other agencies, within the reach of Divine power exercised through the energies of nature, should it be found to be destitute of ten righteous men. So that the conclusion still holds–except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish. (Sir J. William Dawson.)
The destruction of Sodom by God through natural agencies
A man goes now to the scene of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and tries to establish the fact that it was nothing but a natural volcanic eruption; and by getting rid of the supernatural agency he thinks he has got rid of God Himself. Another goes to the same place, and in his zeal for the supernatural wishes to make out that the veracity of the Bible depends on this kind of occurrence never having happened before. Do we mean, then, that only the marvellous incidents of nature–the fall of a Sodom and Gomorrah taking place at an appointed time–only the positive miracles, are Gods doing, and not the common-place events of every-day life? Nay, God holds all the powers of nature in His hand; small events may be so directed by Him that we shall think them accident; but for all this it is no less certain that the most trifling act of every-day life is directed by Him. What we have to say is this: we agree with the supernaturalist in saying that God did it; we agree with the rationalist in saying that it was done by natural means. The natural is the work of God. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)
Site of the cities of the plain
The question of the site of the cities of the plain is one that cannot be decided with certainty. The prevalent view is, that they were at the southern end of the sea. The correspondence of the names Usdum, Amra, and Zoghal to Sodom, Gomorrah, and Zoar, adds weight to this view. Then there is the existence of the salt mountain above alluded to. On the other hand the passage in Gen 13:10-12, tends to the conclusion that the plain was to the north of the Dead Sea. Mr. Grove, in the Bible Dictionary, points out that the mention of the Jordan confirms this: for the Jordan ceases where it enters the Dead Sea, and can have no existence south of that point; and on a review of the whole argument he says: It thus appears that on the situation of Sodom no satisfactory conclusion can at present be come to. On the one hand the narrative of Genesis seems to state positively that it lay at the northern end of the Dead Sea. On the other hand the long continued tradition and the names of existing spots seem to pronounce with almost equal positiveness that it was at its southern end. Canon Tristram, in his Natural History of the Bible, speaks of the great Jordan valley and Dead Sea basin as the most remarkable geological part of the Holy Land. He holds with M. Lartet that the Dead Sea is the basin of an old inland sea, larger, indeed, than the present lake, but which has had no connection with the Red Sea since the continent assumed its present form. He mentions that bitumen is sometimes found in large masses floating on the surface of the Dead Sea, especially after earthquakes; and that there are many hot springs and sulphur springs both on the shores of the Dead Sea and also in its basin, some of which deposit sulphur largely on the rocks around. Most of these hot springs are strongly mineral. With reference to the site of the cities, he thinks it evident on geological grounds that the catastrophe which overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah can no more be ascribed to an ordinary volcanic eruption than can the fire and blackness of Mount Sinai. Those cities were not situated where the Dead Sea now is, nor were they swallowed up by it; but standing in the ciccar, i.e., the plain of Jordan, and probably somewhere between Jericho and the north end of the lake, they were destroyed by brimstone and fire rained down upon them by a special interposition of Divine power. The materials for the fire were at hand in the sulphur abounding near and the bitumen with which, dug from the pits of the plain, the houses were probably constructed, or cemented. (W. S. Smith, B. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 24. The Lord rained – brimstone and fire from the Lord] As all judgment is committed to the Son of God, many of the primitive fathers and several modern divines have supposed that the words vaihovah and meeth Yehovah imply, Jehovah the Son raining brimstone and fire from Jehovah the Father; and that this place affords no mean proof of the proper Divinity of our blessed Redeemer. It may be so; but though the point is sufficiently established elsewhere, it does not appear to me to be plainly indicated here. And it is always better on a subject of this kind not to have recourse to proofs which require proofs to confirm them. It must however be granted that two persons mentioned as Jehovah in one verse, is both a strange and curious circumstance; and it will appear more remarkable when we consider that the person called Jehovah, who conversed with Abraham, (see chap. xviii.,) and sent those two angels to bring Lot and his family out of this devoted place, and seems himself after he left off talking with Abraham to have ascended to heaven, Ge 19:33, does not any more appear on this occasion till we hear that JEHOVAH rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from JEHOVAH out of heaven. This certainly gives much countenance to the opinion referred to above, though still it may fall short of positive proof.
Brimstone and fire. – The word gophrith, which we translate brimstone, is of very uncertain derivation. It is evidently used metaphorically, to point out the utmost degrees of punishment executed on the most flagitious criminals, in De 29:23; Job 18:15; Ps 11:6; Isa 34:9; Eze 38:22. And as hell, or an everlasting separation from God and the glory of his power, is the utmost punishment that can be inflicted on sinners, hence brimstone and fire are used in Scripture to signify the torments in that place of punishment. See Isa 30:33; Re 14:10; Re 19:20; Re 20:10; Re 21:8. We may safely suppose that it was quite possible that a shower of nitrous particles might have been precipitated from the atmosphere, here, as in many other places, called heaven, which, by the action of fire or the electric fluid, would be immediately ignited, and so consume the cities; and, as we have already seen that the plains about Sodom and Gomorrah abounded with asphaltus or bitumen pits, (see Ge 14:10,) that what is particularly meant here in reference to the plain is the setting fire to this vast store of inflammable matter by the agency of lightning or the electric fluid; and this, in the most natural and literal manner, accounts for the whole plain being burnt up, as that plain abounded with this bituminous substance; and thus we find three agents employed in the total ruin of these cities, and all the circumjacent plain:
1. Innumerable nitrous particles precipitated from the atmosphere.
2. The vast quantity of asphaltus or bitumen which abounded in that country: and,
3. Lightning or the electric spark, which ignited the nitre and bitumen, and thus consumed both the cities and the plain or champaign country in which they were situated.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And the neighbouring cities, Admah and Zeboim, as appears from Deu 29:23; Jer 49:18; Hos 11:8.
Brimstone is added to the
fire, either to convey and carry down the fire, which in itself is light and apt to ascend; or to increase it, Isa 30:33; or to represent the noisomeness of their lusts.
From the Lord, i.e. from himself; the noun put for the pronoun, as Gen 1:27; 2Ch 7:2. But here it is emphatically so expressed, either,
1. To signify that it proceeded not from natural causes, but from the immediate hand of God. Or,
2. To note the plurality of persons in the Godhead, God the Son, who now appeared upon the earth, rained from God his Father in heaven, both concurring in this act, as indeed all outward actions are common to all the persons of the Trinity.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
24. Then the Lord rained . . .brimstone and fire from . . . heavenGod, in accomplishing Hispurposes, acts immediately or mediately through the agency of means;and there are strong grounds for believing that it was in the latterway He effected the overthrow of the cities of the plainthat itwas, in fact, by a volcanic eruption. The raining down of fire andbrimstone from heaven is perfectly accordant with this idea sincethose very substances, being raised into the air by the force of thevolcano, would fall in a fiery shower on the surrounding region. Thisview seems countenanced by Job [Job 1:16;Job 18:15]. Whether it wasmiraculously produced, or the natural operation employed by God, itis not of much consequence to determine: it was a divine judgment,foretold and designed for the punishment of those who were sinnersexceedingly.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then the Lord rained upon Sodom, and upon Gomorrah, brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And not upon those two cities only, but upon Admah and Zeboiim also, see De 29:23; this was not a common storm of thunder and lightning, with which often there is a smell of sulphur or brimstone; but this was a continued shower of sulphurous fire, or of burning flaming brimstone, which at once consumed those cities and the inhabitants of them; and the land adjacent being bituminous, or however some parts of it, full of slimepits, or pits of bitumen, a liquid of a pitchy quality,
Ge 14:10; this flaming sulphur falling thereon, must burn in a most fierce and furious manner; and which utterly consumed not only houses, goods, and everything upon the land, but the land itself, and turned it into a bituminous lake, called to this day, from thence, the Lake Asphaltites, the Greek word for bitumen being “asphaltos”. Of this conflagration some Heathen writers speak, as particularly Tacitus f who says, some large and famous cities, or, as some copies have it, Jewish ones, not far from Jordan, were struck with thunderbolts, and were fired “igni ceolesti”, with fire from heaven, and were consumed; and so Solinus g relates, that,
“at some distance from Jerusalem, a sorrowful lake appears, which the black ground testifies was stricken by heaven and turned into ashes; where were two towns, the one called Sodomum, the other Gomorrum.”
This was a righteous judgment on those cities, and a just retaliation for their sin; their sin was an unnatural one, and nature is inverted to punish them, fire comes down from heaven, or hell from heaven, as Salvian’s words are, to consume them; they burned with lusts one against another, and flaming sheets of sulphurous fire fall upon them, burn and destroy them; and, in allusion to this terrible conflagration, hell is called the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, Jude 1:7
Re 20:14; and this destruction was brought upon them by Jehovah the Son of God, who had appeared to Abraham in an human form, and gave him notice of it, and heard all he had to plead for those cities, and then departed from him to Sodom, and was the author of this sad catastrophe; this amazing shower of fire and brimstone was rained by him from Jehovah his Father, out of heaven; so the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem both call him, the Word of the Lord.
f Hist. l. 5. c. 7. g Polyhistor. c. 48.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Here is, I. The rescue of Lot out of Sodom. Though there were not ten righteous men in Sodom, for whose sakes it might be spared, yet that one righteous man that was among them delivered his own soul, Ezek. xiv. 14. Early in the morning his own guests, in kindness to him, turned him out of doors, and his family with him, v. 15. His daughters that were married perished with their unbelieving husbands; but those that continued with him were preserved with him. Observe,
1. With what a gracious violence Lot was brought out of Sodom, v. 16. It seems, though he did not make a jest of the warning given, as his sons-in-law did, yet he lingered, he trifled, he did not make so much haste as the case required. Thus many that are under some convictions about the misery of their spiritual state, and the necessity of a change, yet defer that needful work, and foolishly linger. Lot did so, and it might have been fatal to him it the angels had not laid hold of his hand, and brought him forth, and saved him with fear, Jude 23. Herein it is said, The Lord was merciful to him; otherwise he might justly have left him to perish, since he was so loth to depart. Note, (1.) The salvation of the most righteous men must be attributed to God’s mercy, not to their own merit. We are saved by grace. (2.) God’s power also must be acknowledged in the bringing of souls out of a sinful state. If God had not brought us forth, we had never come forth. (3.) If God had not been merciful to us, our lingering had been our ruin.
2. With what a gracious vehemence he was urged to make the best of his way, when he was brought forth, v. 17. (1.) He must still apprehend himself in danger of being consumed, and be quickened by the law of self-preservation to flee for his life. Note, A holy fear and trembling are found necessary to the working out of our salvation. (2.) He must therefore mind his business with the utmost care and diligence. He must not hanker after Sodom: Look not behind thee. He must not loiter by the way: Stay not in the plain; for it would all be made one dead sea. He must not take up short of the place of refuge appointed him: Escape to the mountain. Such as these are the commands given to those who through grace are delivered out of a sinful state. [1.] Return not to sin and Satan, for that is looking back to Sodom. [2.] Rest not in self and the world, for that is staying in the plain. And, [3.] Reach towards Christ and heaven, for that is escaping to the mountain, short of which we must not take up.
II. The fixing of a place of refuge for him. The mountain was first appointed for him to flee to, but, 1. He begged for a city of refuge, one of the five that lay together, called Bela,Gen 14:2; Gen 19:18-20. It was Lot’s weakness to think a city of his own choosing safer than the mountain of God’s appointing. And he argued against himself when he pleaded, Thou hast magnified thy mercy in saving my life, and I cannot escape to the mountain; for could not he that plucked him out of Sodom, when he lingered, carry him safely to the mountain, though he began to tire? Could not he that saved him from greater evils save him from the less? He insists much in his petition upon the smallness of the place: It is a little one, it is not? therefore, it was to be hoped, not so bad as the rest. This gave a new name to the place; it was called Zoar, a little one. Intercessions for little ones are worthy to be remembered. 2. God granted him his request, though there was much infirmity in it, Gen 19:21; Gen 19:22. See what favour God showed to a true saint, though weak. (1.) Zoar was spared, to gratify him. Though his intercession for it was not, as Abraham’s for Sodom, from a principle of generous charity, but merely from self-interest, yet God granted him his request, to show how much the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails. (2.) Sodom’s ruin was suspended till he was safe: I cannot do any thing till thou shalt have come thither. Note, The very presence of good men in a place helps to keep off judgments. See what care God takes for the preservation of his people. The winds are held till God’s servants are sealed, Rev 7:3; Eze 9:4.
III. It is taken notice of that the sun had risen when Lot entered into Zoar; for when a good man comes into a place he brings light along with him, or should do.
| Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. | B. C. 1898. |
24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
Then, when Lot had got safely into Zoar, then this ruin came; for good men are taken away from the evil to come. Then, when the sun had risen bright and clear, promising a fair day, then this storm arose, to show that it was not from natural causes. Concerning this destruction observe, 1. God was the immediate author of it. It was destruction from the Almighty: The Lord rained–from the Lord (v. 24), that is, God from himself, by his own immediate power, and not in the common course of nature. Or, God the Son from God the Father; for the Father has committed all judgment to the Son. Note, He that is the Saviour will be the destroyer of those that reject the salvation. 2. It was a strange punishment, Job xxxi. 3. Never was the like before nor since. Hell was rained from heaven upon them. Fire, and brimstone, and a horrible tempest, were the portion of their cup (Ps. xi. 6); not a flash of lightning, which is destructive enough when God gives it commission, but a shower of lightning. Brimstone was scattered upon their habitation (Job xviii. 15), and then the fire soon fastened upon them. God could have drowned them, as he did the old world; but he would show that he has many arrows in his quiver, fire as well as water. 3. It was a judgment that laid all waste: It overthrew the cities, and destroyed all the inhabitants of them, the plain, and all that grew upon the ground, v. 25. It was an utter ruin, and irreparable. That fruitful valley remains to this day a great lake, or dead sea; it is called the Salt Sea, Num. xxxiv. 12. Travellers say that it is about thirty miles long and ten miles broad; it has no living creature in it; it is not moved by the wind; the smell of it is offensive; things do not easily sink in it. The Greeks call it Asphaltites, from a sort of pitch which it casts up. Jordan falls into it, and is lost there. 4. It was a punishment that answered to their sin. Burning lusts against nature were justly punished with this preternatural burning. Those that went after strange flesh were destroyed by strange fire, Jude 7. They persecuted the angels with their rabble, and made Lot afraid; and now God persecuted them with his tempest, and made them afraid with his storm, Ps. lxxxiii. 15. 5. It was designed for a standing revelation of the wrath of God against sin and sinners in all ages. It is, accordingly, often referred to in the scripture, and made a pattern of the ruin of Israel (Deut. xxix. 23), of Babylon (Isa. xiii. 19), of Edom (Jer 49:17; Jer 49:18), of Moab and Ammon, Zep. ii. 9. Nay, it was typical of the vengeance of eternal fire (Jude 7), and the ruin of all that live ungodly (2 Pet. ii. 6), especially that despise the gospel, Matt. x. 15. It is in allusion to this destruction that the place of the damned is often represented by a lake that burns, as Sodom did, with fire and brimstone. Let us learn from it, (1.) The evil of sin, and the hurtful nature of it. Iniquity tends to ruin. (2.) The terrors of the Lord. See what a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God!
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
24. Then the Lord rained. Moses here succinctly relates in very unostentatious language, the destruction of Sodom and of the other cities. The atrocity of the case might well demand a much more copious narration, expressed in tragic terms; but Moses, according to his manner, simply recites the judgment of God, which no words would be sufficiently vehement to describe, and then leaves the subject to the meditation of his readers. It is therefore our duty to concentrate all our thoughts on that terrible vengeance, the bare mention of which, as it did not take place without so mighty concussion of heaven and earth, ought justly to make us tremble; and therefore it is so frequently mentioned in the Scriptures. And it was not the will of God that those cities should be simply swallowed up by an earthquake; but in order to render the example of his judgment the more conspicuous, he hurled fire and brimstone upon them out of heaven. To this point belongs what Moses says, that the Lord rained fire from the Lord. The repetition is emphatical, because the Lord did not then cause it to rain, in the ordinary course of nature; but, as if with a stretched out hand, he openly fulminated in a manner to which he was not accustomed, for the purpose of making it sufficiently plain, that this rain of fire and brimstone was produced by no natural causes. It is indeed true, that the air is never agitated by chance; and that God is to be acknowledged as the Author of even the least shower of rain; and it is impossible to excuse the profane subtlety of Aristotle, who, when he disputes so acutely concerning second causes, in his Book on Meteors, buries God himself in profound silence. Moses, however, here expressly commends to us the extraordinary work of God; in order that we may know that Sodom was not destroyed without a manifest miracle. The proof which the ancients have endeavored to derive, from this testimony, for the Deity of Christ, is by no means conclusive: and they are angry, in my judgment, without cause, who severely censure the Jews, because they do not admit this kind of evidence. I confess, indeed, that God always acts by the hand of his Son, and have no doubt that the Son presided over an example of vengeance so memorable; but I say, they reason inconclusively, who hence elicit a plurality of Persons, whereas the design of Moses was to raise the minds of the readers to a more lively contemplation of the hand of God. And as it is often asked, from this passage, ‘What had infants done, to deserve to be swallowed up in the same destruction with their parents?’ the solution of the question is easy; namely, that the human race is in the hand of God, so that he may devote whom he will to destruction, and may follow whom he will with his mercy. Again, whatever we are not able to comprehend by the limited measure of our understanding, ought to be submitted to his secret judgment. Lastly, the whole of that seed was accursed and execrable so that God could not justly have spared, even the least.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(24) The Lord (Jehovah) rained . . . from the Lord (from Jehovah).Many commentators, following the Council of Sirmium, see in this repetition of the name of Jehovah an indication of the Holy Trinity, as though God the Son rained down fire from God the Father. More correctly Calvin takes it as an emphatic reiteration of its being Jehovahs act. Jehovah had mysteriously manifested Himself upon earth by the visit of the three angels to Abraham, but His activity on earth is one with His willing in heaven.
Brimstone and fire.Though God used natural agencies in the destruction of the Ciccar cities, yet what was in itself a catastrophe of nature became miraculous by the circumstances which surrounded it. It was thus made the means not merely of executing the Divine justice, of strengthening Abrahams faith, and of warning Lot, but also of giving moral and religious instruction throughout all time. Seen by its light, events of history, for which sufficient secondary causes may be discovered, are nevertheless shown to be direct manifestations of the Divine justice, and to have moral causes as their real basis. We lose the benefit of the teaching of the Bible if we suppose that the events recorded there were different in kind from those which take place now. A certain limited number of events were so; but of most it is simply the curtain that is drawn back, and we see Gods presence no longer veiled, as with us, but openly revealed. As for the catastrophe itself, it was not a mere thunderstorm which set the earth, saturated with naphtha, on fire; but, in a region where earthquakes are still common, there was apparently an outburst of volcanic violence, casting forth blazing bitumen and brimstone. This falling down upon the houses, and upon the soil charged with combustible matter, caused a conflagration so sudden and widespread that few or none could escape. Sulphur and nitre are still found as natural products on the shores of the Dead Sea.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH, 24-28.
This account of the overthrow of the cities of the plain is brief, but graphic. Four things are succinctly told: 1) The means of destruction fire and brimstone from heaven. 2) The effect utter ruin of the cities, inhabitants, and vegetation. 3) Lot’s wife perishing. 4) The appearance of the country after the destruction, as seen by Abraham like “the smoke of a furnace.”
It is scarcely necessary to repeat here the various speculations and controversies touching the sites of the “cities of the plain,” (see on chapter 14:3,) the possible causes of their destruction, and the present configuration of the Dead Sea. On these subjects the reader must consult the special treatises, and the Biblical Dictionaries. See especially McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopaedia, articles Dead Sea, Gomorrah, Sodom, Siddim, and Zoar.
It has been supposed that the Jordan once flowed southwards through the Arabian Ghor, and emptied into the Red Sea through the Gulf of Akabah. But it is now generally conceded that this salt lake, now nearly 1,300 feet lower than the Mediterranean, and over 1,300 feet lower than the Red Sea, never communicated with the latter, but must have existed long before the age of Abraham. But very probably this ancient lake, which received the waters of the Jordan and many other streams, was very much smaller than the present Dead Sea. This latter, doubtless, covers much surface which was anciently a luxuriant plain. According to Major Wilson, of the Palestine Exploration Fund, “the basin of the Dead Sea has been formed without any influence from, or communication with, the ocean; whence it follows that the lake has never been any thing but a reservoir for the rainfall, the saltness of which originally proceeded from the environs of the lake, and has greatly increased under the influence of incessant evaporation. At a later date volcanic eruptions have taken place to the north-east and east of the Dead Sea, and the last phenomena which affected its basin were the hot and mineral springs and bituminous eruptions which often accompany and follow volcanic action.” It is the province of scientific research to bring to light all that can be ascertained as to the geological formation of this mysterious gulf. The destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah was, according to the obvious import of our narrative, miraculous. See the exposition below.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
24. The Lord rained from the Lord The divine names here used are JEHOVAH. Jehovah sent rain, or caused it to rain, ( ,) from Jehovah out of the heavens . Naturally enough have divines discerned in this peculiar statement the idea of some mysterious interaction of Jehovah and his angel . No doubt the truth is, as many put it, that “the Lord rained from himself;” but it is also true that in that mysterious SELFHOOD there are distinguishable powers and forms of self-manifestation, and these are profoundly intimated in such passages as this, and those that speak of the angel of Jehovah . See on Gen 16:7. Such intimations are not to be pressed as proofs of the divine Trinity, but may be properly regarded as inspired adumbrations of a plurality of persons in the unity of God .
Brimstone and fire These are expressly said to have been rained out of heaven, and the circumstances amply detailed in this and the preceding chapters and the whole context, set forth the manner of the event as miraculous. But we may well believe that in this event, as in the plagues of Egypt, God used natural agencies to accomplish his will. “We know,” says Dr. E. Robinson, “that the country is subject to earthquakes, and exhibits also frequent traces of volcanic action. Perhaps both causes were at work; for volcanic action and earthquakes go hand in hand; and the accompanying electric discharges usually cause lightnings to play and thunders to roll. In this way we have all the phenomena which the most literal interpretation of the sacred records can demand. Further, if we may suppose that before this catastrophe the bitumen had become accumulated around the sources; and had, perhaps, formed strata spreading for some distance upon the plain; that possibly these strata in some parts extended under the soil, and might thus easily approach the vicinity of the cities, then the kindling of such a mass of combustible materials, through volcanic action or by lightning from heaven, would cause a conflagration sufficient not only to engulf the cities, but also to destroy the surface of the plain, so that ‘the smoke of the country would go up as the smoke of a furnace,’ and the sea, rushing in, would convert it into a tract of waters.” Biblical Researches, vol. ii, p. 190.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Yahweh out of heaven, and he overthrew those cities and all the Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and all that grew on the ground.’
The possibility from the description is that we are to see here volcanic action. But we are to recognise that it had been restrained by Yahweh until that very moment. Another strongly suggested alternative is that of a tectonic earthquake resulting in the release of inflammable gases, asphalt and petroleum, ignited by the heat. It may have resulted in the expansion of the Dead Sea at the Southern end. The Dead Sea area is today rich in deposits of asphalt and sulphur. There are references in later extra-Biblical literature to some kind of disaster in this area.
The sites of these cities are as yet unknown although some postulate them as being under the Southern tip of the Dead Sea. We must consider that the configuration of the land may well have altered drastically as a result of the disaster and the passage of time. Suggested mention of the cities at Ebla is still very much open to question.
The suggestion that ‘and Gomorrah’ is a later addition overlooks the fact that Sodom is being centred on because of the presence of Lot, and that they are regularly seen as a pairing (Gen 13:10; Gen 14:10-11, compare how only the king of Sodom is mentioned later, Sodom is clearly the primary city; Isa 13:19; Jer 49:18; Jer 50:40; Amo 4:11). In fact the whole Plain of Jordan clearly comes under judgment. Yahweh knows the true condition of all the inhabitants. Lot was the exceptional feature that required testing.
If Lot still possesses servants, flocks and herds, they too perish in the conflagration. But his failure to consider them may suggest that by this time Lot is a merchant and no longer involved with herding. The incident with the five kings, when his possessions were all appropriated, may have led him to invest in things which could be more closely watched and hidden. If he does still have servants the indication is that they too have become involved in the perversions and religion of Sodom.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Gen 19:24-25. The Lord rainedfrom the Lord Houbigant asserts, and Calmet also is of the same opinion, that the Jehovah here repeated refers to the Father and the Son: and so, says he, almost all the ancient fathers have understood it, as they doubted not that the Son of God appeared to Abraham in a human form.
Rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah Which are only mentioned as being the principal cities, though all the rest were consumed. Strabo, the historian, says, that there were no less than thirteen of these cities, upon which this fire and brimstone, these sulphureous flames descended, like floods of rain from heaven; or, as Salvian glosses it, God rained hell from heaven upon an impious people. “A most hideous shower, or rather storm of nitre, mingled with fire, (says Bishop Patrick,) fell upon this country, and, as the tradition was among the heathen, accompanied with a dreadful earthquake, which made an irruption of those bituminous waters, whereby the country was turned into the Salt, or Dead-sea; so Strabo, Gen 50:16 : in his description of that lake. But Tacitus, (another great historian,) who was better informed, says these cities were burnt by the stroke of thunderbolts from heaven, fulminum jactu arsisse; and a little after were set on fire and consumed by lightning, igni coelesti flagrasse.” To have the best idea of this dreadful event, let it be observed, 1st, That all the vale of Siddim, where Sodom and the other cities stood, was originally a very bituminous soil. 2nd, That by the brimstone and fire which rained from heaven, we may understand, according to the language of Scripture, brimstone inflamed, which in the Hebrew style signifies lightning. 3rdly, That, therefore, this fire from the Lord may describe the lightning and thunderbolts: so that, in agreement with Mr. Le Clerc, we may apprehend, that the lightning and thunderbolts falling in immense abundance upon the pits of bitumen, the veins of that combustible matter took fire immediately; and as the fire penetrated into the lowest bowels of the bituminous soil, these wicked cities were subverted by a dreadful earthquake, which was followed with a subsiding of the ground: and as soon as the earth was sunk, it would unavoidably happen, that the waters running to this place in great abundance, and so mixing with the bitumen, which they found in great plenty, would make a lake of what was a vale before, and a lake of the same quality, with what the Scripture calls the Salt or Dead-sea. The memory of this fearful catastrophe has been preserved by many ancient writers of the first note. Not only Strabo and Tacitus, but Diodorus Siculus, Solinus, and several others, attest the truth. But be that as it will, we have an everlasting monument of this destruction in the Salt-sea into which that country was turned; the quality of which, and of the soil about it, is so contrary to the nature of all other seas and inland lakes, that no philosopher can give us an account of it, like that which Moses has given. And the matter of the soil is so inflammable, that, from probable accounts, it continued burning, in a degree, till after the Apostles’ times, and was burning in Philo Judaeus’s time. Nor will this appear so extraordinary to those who consider that the earth affords many such phoenomena of perpetual fires, as Vesuvius, AEtna, and other mountains; though, doubtless, in the present case, the whole must be deemed miraculous; for, while we endeavour to account for this awful event in a natural way, it is nevertheless certain that God was the proper author of this effect, not only because the constitution of nature is the original work of his power and skill, but because the sacred historian gives us fully to understand, that this event would not have happened at least at that conjuncture, nor with all the circumstances here related, without the extraordinary interposition of the Lord; while it should be remembered, that particular events, like this, are not the less miraculous, because God effects them by the intervention of second or natural causes. Those who would see more on this interesting point, will be much gratified by reading Le Clerc’s dissertation on the subject; who observes, that the celebrated story among the heathens, of Baucis and Philemon, Ovid. Met. lib. 8: was (doubtless) drawn from this event. They were supposed to have been preserved by flying to the mountains, for their hospitality, by two gods, who visited them, and saved them from the destruction brought on a wicked country, which, like the vale of Siddim, was turned into a lake or sea.
I cannot here withhold from my readers Mr. Maundrell’s account of this wonderful lake.”On our approaching that sea, we passed through a kind of coppice of bushes and reeds; and on our arrival at it, found that it is inclosed on the east and west by very high mountains. On the north it is bounded by the plain of Jericho, on which side it receives the water of Jordan; and on the south it extends farther than the eye can reach. This lake is said to be twenty-four leagues in length, and six or seven in breadth. On the shore of this sea or lake we found a black sort of pebbles, that burn on being held in the flame of a candle, yielding a smoke of an intolerable stench; but though they lose their weight in burning, they do not at all decrease in bulk. The neighbouring hills abound with these sulphureous stones; and I saw pieces of them at the convent of St. John in the wilderness, which were two feet square, carved in basso-relievo, and polished to as great a lustre as black marble is capable of. These were designed for the ornaments of a new church and convent. It is a common tradition, that all the birds which attempt to fly over this lake drop down dead into it, and that no fish or any other animal can support life within these deadly waters; but I actually saw several birds flying about and over this lake, without any visible injury. I also observed among the pebbles on the shore two or three shells of fish resembling those of oysters cast up by the waves. The water I found to be very limpid, and not only salt, but also extremely bitter and nauseous; and being willing to make an experiment of its strength, I went into it, and found that it bore me up in swimming with uncommon force: but as to what is said by some authors, that persons wading in it were buoyed up to the top as soon as the water reached the navel, I found it false by experience. As for the bitumen, for which this lake has been long famous, there was none at the place where we were, though it is gathered near the mountains on both sides in great plenty. I had several lumps of it brought me to Jerusalem, and found that it exactly resembled pitch, from which I could no otherwise distinguish it than by its sulphureous taste and smell.
Being desirous of seeing if there were any remains of the cities anciently situated in this place, and made the dreadful example of the Divine displeasure, I carefully surveyed the waters as far as my eye could reach, but could not see any heaps of ruins, nor any of that smoke ascending above the surface, which is usually mentioned in the writings of geographers. I was told, however, by the Father Guardian, and the procurator of Jerusalem, both of whom were men in years, and to appearance neither destitute of sense nor probity, that once they actually saw some of these ruins, which were so near the shore, and the water at that time so shallow, that they, with some Frenchmen, went to them, and found several pillars and other fragments of buildings; but they were now probably concealed by the height of the water. On the west side of the lake is a small promontory, near which our guide told us is the monument of Lot’s wife metamorphosed into a pillar of salt; but we did not give credit enough to the report, to take the trouble of going to seek for it. As to the apples of Sodom, of which so much has been said, I neither saw nor heard of any about this place; nor was there any tree to be seen near the lake, from which any such kind of fruit might be expected.” See Maundrell’s Travels through the Holy Land.
REFLECTIONS.Bright was the sun which rose upon devoted Sodom. Safe in their foolish confidence, Lot’s flight afforded matter of fresh ridicule; and now they can welcome the returning day. But see, when sinners are in the height of their security, how destruction overtakes them. The sun is covered, the storm arises, the lightnings glare, the heavens are on fire, the flames descend, the smoking cities send up their dying cries. Too late to call for mercy, it is the time of judgment. Mark the end of the vain confidence of sinners.
Learn, 1. If judgments are upon the earth, it is the Lord’s work. The Lord Jesus is not only the Saviour of those who believe in him, like Lot; but he is the Judge and destroyer of those who, like Sodom, reject his salvation. 2. They who go after strange flesh, may expect to be punished with strange judgments. 3. What a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of the Living God. Fools now make a mock of sin; but they will find it a bitter thing, when they shall feel, with Sodom, the vengeance of eternal fire. Jud 1:7.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
Num 34:12 ; Psa 83:15 . A standing monument of God’s judgment! Deu 29:23 ; 2Pe 2:6 ; Mat 10:15 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 19:24 Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
Ver. 24. Then the Lord rained, &c. ] Lot was no sooner taken out of Sodom, but Sodom was soon taken out of the world. The wicked are reprieved for the sake of the godly, and, but for them would suddenly be ruined. Isa 30:33
Rained upon Sodom, &c.
a Heyl., Geog. p. 42.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the LORD . . . from the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. Repetition very emphatic. Compare “we”, Gen 19:13.
brimstone and fire. Figure of speech Hendiadys (App-6) = burning brimstone. Referred to in Deu 29:23. Isa 13:19. Jer 49:18. Zep 2:9. Mat 10:15. 2Pe 2:6. Jud 1:7.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Lot and His Daughters Rescued
Gen 19:24-29
God had mercy on Lot for Abrahams sake. A missionary told me that when, on writing home to his mother, he narrated his miraculous deliverance from an infuriated mob, she replied by quoting a special entry in her diary to the effect that, during those exact hours, she was detained before God in a perfect agony of intercession for him. Lot was saved from Sodom, but took Sodom with him. He was saved so as by fire, but his life-work was burned up. See 1Co 3:15. Even his wife might have been saved, but her heart was inveterately wedded to the city. In modern cities there are traces of the sins that doomed Sodom. Let us bear witness against them, that we may arrest inevitable judgment. Jude tells us that in the fate of these cities we have an example of eternal fire. Have a place where you stand before God. Only from that eminence can you venture to look out on the awful retribution of human rebellion.
For Review Questions on Genesis see the e-Sword Book Comments.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
the Lord: Deu 29:23, Job 18:15, Psa 11:6, Isa 1:9, Isa 13:19, Jer 20:16, Jer 49:18, Jer 50:40, Lam 4:6, Eze 16:49, Eze 16:50, Hos 11:8, Amo 4:11, Zep 2:9, Mat 11:23, Mat 11:24, Luk 17:28, Luk 17:29, 2Pe 2:6, Jud 1:7
brimstone: The word rendered “brimstone,” – q.d. brennestone, or brinnestone, id est burning-stone is always rendered by the LXX “sulphur,” and seems to denote a meteorous inflammable matter.
Reciprocal: Gen 10:19 – Sodom Gen 13:10 – the plain Gen 14:2 – Sodom Gen 14:3 – salt sea Gen 20:4 – wilt Num 34:12 – the salt sea Deu 28:24 – make the rain Jos 10:11 – the Lord Job 1:16 – there came Job 20:23 – rain it Job 22:20 – the fire Job 36:14 – unclean Job 36:31 – by Psa 140:10 – burning coals Psa 148:8 – Fire Isa 24:18 – for the Isa 30:33 – the breath Eze 7:7 – morning Eze 16:46 – thy younger sister Eze 38:22 – an overflowing Rom 9:29 – we had been Rev 9:17 – brimstone Rev 11:8 – Sodom Rev 14:10 – be Rev 19:20 – burning Rev 20:9 – and fire
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Gen 19:24. Then the Lord rained, from the Lord The Son, who had conversed with Abraham, from the Father, for the Father has committed all judgment to the Son. He that is they Saviour will be the destroyer of those that reject the salvation.